Drivers 55 and older save at least 5% on car insurance. Pennsylvania law requires it once you finish a PennDOT-approved course like this one. It's an easy online course you take at home, at your own pace.
Choose your course
First mature driver course? Take the Basic. Already took a Basic course, with us or another approved provider? Take the Refresher every 3 years to keep your discount.
By law your discount is at least 5%. That's a minimum, not a maximum, and some insurance companies give more. Ask yours what they offer.
The insurance discount
Under Pennsylvania law (75 Pa.C.S. § 1799.2), insurance companies must give a discount of at least 5% on each car on a policy when all named insureds are 55 or older and have completed a PennDOT-approved course. The discount applies to all coverages, for every policy period that starts within 3 years after you finish. The law sets 5% as the minimum and no maximum. Read Section 1799.2 · See PennDOT's page
The first time, take the Basic course (7 hours of content). After that, take the Refresher (4 hours of content) every 3 years. Both are 100% online, at your own pace, and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
Your certificate is emailed to you and ready to download. Send it to your insurance company. If someone else is named on your policy, such as your spouse, they need to be 55 or older and take the course too.
The discount covers policy periods that start within 3 years after you finish. To keep saving, take the Refresher before your 3 years are up. Your insurance company may ask that you stay free of at-fault accidents and traffic convictions during that time.
Estimate your savings
Type in what you pay for car insurance to get a rough idea. Pennsylvania law sets a 5% minimum and no maximum. Some insurance companies give more, so use this as a starting point, then check with yours.
Start with the amount on your insurance bill, then raise the discount to compare.
See the course
Clear text, big headings, and audio that reads each lesson to you while the words light up. These screenshots are from the first module, Driving Safely in All Pennsylvania Conditions.
Listen or read
Press play and the lesson is read aloud to you, with the words highlighted as they're spoken, so it's easy to keep your place. This is the real start of the first module.
Welcome to the Pennsylvania Mature Driver Insurance Discount Course, an online program designed to help you become a safer, more responsible driver. Whether you're here to qualify for an insurance discount or simply to improve your driving skills, this course is for you. This course offers valuable tools and knowledge to help reduce the likelihood of vehicle accidents and promote safe driving habits.
33-second excerpt from the course audio. In the course, the audio player stays at the top of the lesson.
How it works
The Basic course is 7 hours of content, and the Refresher is 4 hours of content. Either way, you go at your own pace.
Pick the Basic or the Refresher, create your account, and pay $17.99. It only takes a few minutes.
Read or listen, one lesson at a time. Stop whenever you like and come back later. Your progress saves as you go. You finish with a short final test. No PennDOT test or road test.
When you finish, your certificate is emailed to you and ready to download. Send it to your insurance company. If you give us your insurance agent's contact details, we'll copy them on it as a courtesy. Then check with your agent that they got it and applied your discount.
Who it's for
If you and everyone else named on your car insurance policy are 55 or older and have taken an approved course, Pennsylvania law gives you the discount. Sharing a policy with your spouse? You each take the course.
That's fine. It works on a computer, tablet, or phone, and you just go one lesson at a time. Press play to have each lesson read aloud. Need a hand? Call (833) 921-0217 or email info@defensivedriversinstitute.com.
First time? Take the Basic course. Already took a Basic course, with us or another approved provider? Take the Refresher every 3 years to keep your discount. Either way, your certificate is emailed to you when you finish, and you can download it anytime from your account.
What you'll learn
Practical lessons to help you stay safe and confident behind the wheel.
One price
The Basic and the Refresher are both $17.99. When you finish, your certificate is emailed to you and ready to download, so you can send it to your insurance company. It stays in your online account, so you can download it again whenever you need it.
Our course is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Checkout is encrypted, and we never store your credit card details.
Quick answers
Pennsylvania drivers 55 and older. Under Pennsylvania law (75 Pa.C.S. § 1799.2), insurance companies must give a discount on each car on a policy when all named insureds (everyone named on the policy) are 55 or older and have completed a PennDOT-approved course. So if your spouse is also named on your policy, they take the course too. Drivers under 55 can take the course as well: the law doesn't require a discount for them, but some insurance companies give one anyway. Read Section 1799.2
If this is your first Pennsylvania mature driver course, take the Basic course (7 hours of content). If you already took a Basic course, with us or any other PennDOT-approved provider, take the Refresher (4 hours of content) to keep your discount going. Both are $17.99. Not sure? Call us at (833) 921-0217
At least 5%, by law, and it applies to all coverages on your car insurance policy. The law sets 5% as the minimum and no maximum, and some insurance companies give more than 5%. Ask your insurance company what they offer, or use the savings estimate on this page for a rough idea. Try the savings estimate
The discount applies to every policy period that starts within 3 years after you finish the course. To keep it going, Pennsylvania law says to take an approved course again every 3 years. PennDOT calls that renewal course the Refresher, and you can take it here.
It's the renewal course for drivers who already took a Basic course. It's 4 hours of content, at your own pace, and you take it every 3 years to keep your discount. You don't have to take it with the same provider as your Basic course.
It can. Pennsylvania law lets your insurance company require that, for 3 years after you finish the course, you have no accidents you're found responsible for, no convictions for traffic offenses that carry points, and no DUI conviction or ARD. Ask your insurance company whether they use these conditions.
That depends on your insurance company. Often it starts when your policy next renews, so it's worth sending your certificate as soon as you finish. Ask your insurer how they handle it.
The Basic course is 7 hours of content, the length PennDOT sets for it. The Refresher is 4 hours of content. Either way, go at your own pace. Log out whenever you like, and your progress saves, so you pick up right where you left off.
Just a short final test at the end of the course. There's no PennDOT test and no road test.
Yes. It works on a computer or tablet, and on a phone too. You simply go through it one lesson at a time. If you'd rather listen than read, press play and the lesson is read aloud to you. If you get stuck, we're glad to help: email info@defensivedriversinstitute.com or call (833) 921-0217
Yes. Stop whenever you like. Your progress is saved automatically, so you pick up right where you left off.
When you finish the course, we email your certificate to you, and it's ready to download. It stays in your online account, so you can download it again whenever you need it.
Send a copy to your insurance company or agent. If you give us your insurance agent's contact details, we'll copy them on your certificate as a courtesy. Either way, please follow up with your agent to make sure they got it and applied your discount. You only send it to your insurance company, not to PennDOT.
Yes. PennDOT (the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) lists Defensive Drivers Institute among the organizations that offer its approved Basic and Refresher Mature Driver Improvement courses. See PennDOT's list of approved courses
$17.99 for either course, the Basic or the Refresher.
Not finished? You can get a refund. Read our refund policy
Yes. The site uses secure encryption, and we never store your credit card details or share your personal information.
Questions about the course? Call us at (833) 921-0217 or contact us. We're happy to help.
Approved by PennDOT · 100% online · $17.99
Go at your own pace. Your progress saves every step of the way.
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